


Unexpected Endeavours

by abriefdalliance



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Fluff, GoM interference, GoM just can't mind their own business, M/M, oblivious aomine, scheming akashi, the one where aomine finally gets his shadow back
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-22
Updated: 2015-05-03
Packaged: 2017-12-30 03:53:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 18,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1013779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abriefdalliance/pseuds/abriefdalliance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aomine Daiki was most definitely not in love with Kuroko Tetsuya and if he had any say in the matter, it would stay that way. Pity he doesn't. GoM interference included</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

**Chapter 1**

It had hurt. Hell, it still hurt. His partner, best friend, his shadow had abandoned him with no notice or warning. Aomine had become so detached from his team and so determined to remove basketball from his life that it had taken a week for him to realise that Tetsu was gone. Once the shock had worn off, Aomine was left to find that his world had shattered. To rub, no pour, salt on the wound, the only person who could even begin to pick up the pieces and glue them together again was nowhere to be found. Damn Akashi wouldn’t even tell them whether Tetsu was still in the country.

And so, the end of their Teiko career was inundated with Kise’s wails and grief stricken sobs, Midorima’s mutterings that were laced with poorly hidden worry, Murasakibara’s addiction to heart attack inducing snacks rocketing off the charts and Akashi’s piercing glares and shiver inducing snide commands. Aomine himself fled to the rooftops, avoiding everything and everyone. So after seeing all his teammates fall apart as an aftermath of Tetsu’s vanishing act, it had been a slap in the face to see he had found himself a new light; that he was happy with that deranged, double-eyebrowed red hair idiot and that weak, weak team.

Back in Teiko, arrogance was always present in Aomine’s play, sometimes cheekiness and pure joy would leak through and on the rare times he and Tetsu would fight, pain from those fearsome Ignite Passes – God, did those hurt like a bitch! Multiple times he had had to soak his hands in an ice bucket after matches – but mostly Aomine wasn’t affected greatly by emotions during games. The match against Seirin in the Interhigh though, watching Tetsu and Kagami interact had caused something cold and ugly to claw from his chest and up into his throat. It made Aomine want to rip Bakagami away from his Tetsu, his shadow, and hold him in his arms and make damn certain Tetsu knew exactly whom he belonged to.

Aomine’s bitterness, frustration and damn it, that was not jealousy, because no matter how many inappropriate thoughts he had entertained back in the Teiko locker rooms or the infinite amount of dreams in which Tetsu undisputedly held the leading role, prostate before him in suggestive positions and looking up at Aomine with those big blue eyes, begging him to fu- damn it! Aomine was not gay. He was not in lo-, correction, he did not have a crush on the blunette, he had never harboured any feelings more than the strictly platonic ones he felt towards his other friends and he most certainly did not want to engage in extremely homosexual, gay, guy-on-guy, sweaty, hot intercourse with Tetsu.

So as the match went on, all the aforementioned feelings shouldn’t have flooded Aomine’s play but the aggressive, nasty and downright mean way he was playing suggested otherwise. He wanted to humiliate that red headed asshole and he wanted Tetsu to admit defeat, acknowledge that he, Aomine Daiki, was the better player, partner, friend and the brightest damn light Tetsu would ever find and so, through such logic and deduction, Tetsu would choose him this time, for good.

Of course, it all went to hell and whilst Aomine won the match, the already tentative – read non-existent – hold on Tetsu slipped even further from his grasp. All the while, the little ‘tiger’ got closer with his shadow. Hell, he could practically see the bonds the two were forming, the thick steel chains of friendship and camaraderie tying the phantom player and the wild savage together. And Aomine knew he wasn’t imagining things, it wasn’t all in his head, Murisakibara of all people commented on the Seirin aces’ relationship after seeing the two play.

By this point Aomine had given up on ever getting the quiet boy back by his side; to fill up that raw, jagged, Tetsu-shaped hole that ached constantly in his heart. So to say – that whilst Aomine was sulking and moping over his first loss in a basketball game in years meanwhile trying his hardest to ignore and hide the bubble of joy that was developing in his throat because dude, he had just lost a basketball game! – Tetsu asking him to bump fists again, and looking up at him with those baby blues that screamed it was Aomine’s fault that they had parted ways, was a shock would be the greatest understatement in the histories of understatements. Aomine, being Aomine, promptly squashed, stomped, trampled and just for good measure, crumpled up and tossed the hopeful feeling that had blossomed in his stomach, in the trashcan which he then sent careening down into the dark abyss of the ‘back of his mind’, this was all after he had set the bloody thing on fire, of course.

He had blinked owlishly down at the light haired boy and opened his mouth several times to say something, anything really. It was hard to form words when his brain had just exploded both at the injustice of Tetsu’s silent accusation and the improbability of what was happening; what Tetsu seemed to be offering. Eventually he managed to mouth off a comeback that vaguely resembled his usual asshole self and when his body finally responded to the frantic shouts of his fragmented mind, he raised his fist shakily and finally met Tetsu’s for the first time in close to a year.  
Aomine was not prepared for the responding rush of warmth, ecstasy, giddiness and adoring affection that started in the general area of his heart and spread throughout his torso, into his limbs to the tips of his fingers and toes. It was like immersing himself in a warm bath after running home in a cold winter snowstorm; it was like coming home. And then it hit him. Well, it was more like a freight train had steamrolled over him multiple times. Aomine Daiki had a giant freaking man crush on Kuroko Tetsuya.

That realisation left his legs trembling, knees knocking and his heart seeming to pound right out of his ribcage. While Aomine’s mind was exploding and imploding this time round, he watched Tetsu head back to the Seirin players. His team greeted him with proud beaming grins, warm brotherly thumps on the back that threatened to topple the exhausted specialist player, who in turn, flashed a rare, genuine smile back. The following fist bump and look shared between Kagami and Tetsu sent all the warm, fuzzy, hopeful feelings building up in Aomine come crashing down with less grace than Kise’s fangirls during a signing event.

  
For the rest of the day Aomine walked around in a haze and it wasn’t until later that night that he realised he had promised Momoi that he would attend practice from then on. Boy, did he regret that one.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Aomine fell onto his bed with a sigh. This was ridiculous, hell it had long passed that and was now bordering on insanity. It had been close to a week since his earth shattering epiphany and all that he had _ever_ thought about since then was Tetsu. He would be eating cereal and he’d remember how Tetsu had always been fond of the sweeter brands, especially if they had fruit pieces covered in frosting sugar and how his eyes would subtly light up and the corner of his mouth would kick up a notch. Or Aomine would be brushing his teeth and an image of Tetsu with his sleep bleary eyes and adorably ruffled bed hair which made him look like he had had raunchy sex all night long. At this point Aomine’s pants would become uncomfortably tight and he’d have to resort to decidedly unsexy thoughts – like Midorima in ruffled grandma knickers, dancing on an iceberg. That usually killed the mood pretty quickly.

And if it weren’t memories of Tetsu, it would be steamy daydreams. But all of that Aomine could handle, and in fact enjoy, what he couldn’t stand was the constant replay of all the intimate looks and touches he had seen shared between Bakagami and the object of his obsession. Repicturing those images felt like being kicked right in the stomach, leaving him breathless and slightly nauseous…and there they were again, with the stupid intense stares and the irritating secretive smiles. Aomine flipped roughly onto his stomach and stuffed his face into his pillow to muffle the frustrated scream that was clawing up his throat.

The cheerful chirping of his phone interrupted his internal rant and Aomine tilted his head lazily to check the caller ID. In bright blue letters, the name ‘Tetsu’ flashed across the screen. Aomine froze for a second and as cliché as it sounds, the blasted organ in his chest actually skilled a damn beat and when it resumed, he could feel the pounding echoing through his whole body. He burst into a frenzy of movement, simultaneously trying to tug his right hand out from under his pillow to grab his phone while violently pushing up with his left which sent the pillow flying into the phone and clattering across the floorboards. Aomine tried to scramble off the bed, kicking at the blankets tangled around his legs and pin wheeling his arms in an effort to regain his balance. He ended up face down on the floor with his lower body still in bed.

Snatching his phone up, he answered out of breath, “Hi.”

The silence on the line suddenly dropped by a good thirty degrees, Aomine shivered and shifted restlessly. As a self-taught Tetsu-facial-expression-body-nuances-vocal-and-silence expert, he diagnosed the current mood of the other blunette as bordering on murderous. He began to shift furiously through all his recent actions which could have caused offence and started to clear his throat awkwardly when his ex-shadow cut in, “I’m sorry. Does Aomine-kun have a girl over right now?”

To most people, Tetsu’s voice would have sounded very much like his usual blunt, expressionless speech, but Aomine could detect the irritation and scowl which practically dripped from his words.

Shivering with trepidation, he yelled, “W-w-what?! N-no! Of course not!”

As the unexpected, and uncalled for in Aomine’s opinion, animosity showed no sign of waning, he became increasingly desperate and without thinking blurted, “Why would I be with a girl? I mean, sure I used to be into chicks with big melons but that was before and come on, people can change right? It’s not like I’m an inflexible, close minded moron, you know? I can definitely be with someone who’s not a girl. And I’m not saying I’m with anyone at _all_! Just that if I was, why would you assume it’s a girl? The only one I could ever want in that way, the only one that’s even been on my mind lately, is yo-“

He managed to strangle the last syllable in time, horrified at his verbal diarrhoea. A dark red flush crept up his neck and spread into his cheeks, God, what the hell was _wrong_ with him? He may as well have declared his tendency to develop hard ons for guys and written his feelings for which specific guy roused these feelings in the form of a sappy poem on a pink and red love heart card and shoved it in Tetsu’s face all the while tap dancing and singing gay choir show tunes.

There was a brief pause on the other end but when Kuroko spoke next he sounded considerably happier and even slightly…pleased? The tanned boy shook off his confusion as Tetsu continued talking.

“If Aomine-kun is not busy, will he meet me at the street courts in an hour’s time?”

“S-sure.”

_Click_.

Aomine shakily snapped his phone shut, his thoughts going six hundred kilometres a minute. Did Tetsu just ask him out on a _date_?!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

“You want me to what?!”

Kuroko gave off a tiny frustrated sigh, “Aomine-kun, this is the fourth time, but please teach me how to shoot.”

Aomine had arrived at their usual courts just on time and out of breath. He had spent the hour after Tetsu’s unexpected phone call, for a lack of a better word, primping. His bedroom currently resembled the aftermath of a hurricane which had combined with a tornado and just for good measure, followed by an earthquake and consequent tsunami. Aomine had tried on outfit after outfit, found minor faults in each one then discarded the garments over his shoulder. It wasn’t until he checked the clock and realised that he had a quarter of an hour to make the twenty minute trip it would take to get to the courts that he made his final decision. Giving himself a final once over in the mirror – he looked pretty damn good, if he did say so himself – Aomine flew down the stairs an after a hurried goodbye to his mum, he raced out the door.

All the way to meet Tetsu, Aomine practised the multiple ways in which their conversation would go and how to respond to each avenue of possibility. His favourite one so far was a little farfetched, he would admit;

_“H-hi Tetsu.”_

_“Aomine-kun. You’re probably wondering why I asked you here.”_

_“W-well…”_

_“I like you Aomine-kun. I’ve liked you for a long time now and I would like it if we started dating.”_

Then Tetsu would lean in on tippy toes – being utterly adorable all the while – he would be close enough so that Aomine could count the individual lashes on his fluttering eyelids, trace the endearing, pink cupid’s bow to his lips, feel the warmth of Tetsu’s small hand on his shoulder and the little puffs of warm air on his own lips. Here, his inner self gave a little shrill girly squeal which made him freeze in his tracks. God, he was really losing his mind here, he needed help. Shaking himself physically, he jogged on to his planned rendezvous.

So when the phantom player had cut through the pleasantries and brusquely asked the favour in his customary blank voice, Aomine’s bubble of hope was burst unceremoniously. He desperately tried to grab onto the fading imagined scenarios, implementing some of the phrases he had rehearsed but Tetsu just spoke over him and asked the question again.

Grumbling under his breath about how unfair the situation was – damn it, Tetsu shouldn’t have sounded so propositional and inviting – he grudgingly gave his agreement. Aomine knew just how impossible the task he had just undertaken was; after all he had practiced many hours alone with his ex-shadow during their Teiko years, even before the light haired boy had become a regular. He brightened a little at this realisation. The amount of time it would take to teach Tetsu to shoot would mean more meetings and more time spent in his presence.

“And”, Inner Aomine interjected whilst doing a happy dance, “Notice how he didn’t go to Bakagami for help? Instead he came to us!”

His mood now lifted, Aomine proceeded enthusiastically with the lesson.

 

* * *

 

He had forgotten just how terrible Tetsu was.

Sighing, he picked up the ball and tossed it lightly to the Seirin player. Aomine positioned himself behind the smaller boy, and adjusted Tetsu’s stance with a gentle nudge between his legs and guided his arms into position with his own; showing him the gentle flicking movement of the wrist that would guide the orange ball into the hoop.

“Okay, you ready?”

With Aomine directing Kuroko’s movements, the ball flew into a perfect arch and swished accurately and silently into the ring.

“There you go. Do you remember the movement and power I just used?”

Aomine had unconsciously leaned down to ask the question so he could distinctly feel the slight tremor that ran through Tetsu’s body and hear his sharp intake of breath. When Tetsu answered with a tiny ‘yes’, there was a breathless quality in his voice that puzzled Aomine. It wasn’t until the light haired boy shifted slightly that Aomine realised exactly what position they were in. The full length of his body was pressed against Tetsu’s with his feet framing the others, his arms were practically cuddling the smaller boy and if he tilted his head down a notch, his face would be buried in the soft silky locks that he had always wanted to run his fingers through.

A hot flush swept over his body and he cleared his throat self-consciously. Dropping his arms and stepping back, he gestured his hand in the air weakly, “Now you try it.”

The look that Tetsu shot him over his shoulder looked a lot like disappointment and for the life of him, Aomine could not figure out the reason. Shaking it off, he watched closely as the boy picked up the discarded ball and prepared to shoot. Disturbingly girly thoughts invaded his head as he observed the other male, thoughts that he should definitely not have towards another guy; how lean and perfect his ex-shadow was, how his light blue hair seemed to dance in the slight breeze and shone in the sunlight, how determination shone from his usual blank gaze, how there was a slight pursing of those full pink lips in concentration and how grace and delicacy seemed to exude from his every movement. Aomine felt a sudden surge of protectiveness for the phantom player, he wanted to bubble wrap the small boy and hold him tight so that he would never ever get hurt again.

The familiar dull thunk of ball hitting the metal rim jolted Aomine out of his musings. He barely managed to repress the fond the smile that was threatening to slide across his face when he saw the dejected and sulky pout that Tetsu had developed; he resembled an extremely put out puppy that just had his favourite toy taken away. Moving to scoop up the basketball, Aomine chuckled softly and ruffled his hair as he passed, completely missing the intense burning look that Kuroko shot at his back.

 

* * *

 

Aomine couldn’t, and wouldn’t even if he could, stop the look of immense pride and adoration he was wearing as he watched the match against Seirin and Yosen. After hours of failed practice, he had realised that while normal players pass with their palms, Tetsu passes like how a normal player shoots, applying in fingertips and wrists in the process. So when Tetsu tries to shoot, he uses the same technique, but as a shot and a pass are completely different, he has trouble gauging the distance to the hoop. After this epiphany, Aomine encouraged Kuroko to use the palm of his hand to thrust the ball forward from his chest. And slowly, the Phantom Shot was developed.

 

 

* * *

 

The match was over. Seirin had won. Aomine turned to leave amid the celebrations and overwhelming noise; cheers, whoops of delight and mutterings and chatters on the newly emerging no-name school. He had spotted Akashi lurking among the spectators and really, the less he saw of his terrifying ex-captain, the better.

By the time Kuroko caught up to him, Aomine had reached the gate that lead into the sports arena where the Winter Cup was held. He hadn’t expected to feel a small but strong hand latch onto the crook of his elbow and forcefully turn him around. The tanned player looked down to meet his friend’s eyes and lost focus immediately. Tetsu had clearly run after him immediately after the match, he hadn’t even stopped to dry off; his hair was in ruffled strands where he had run his hand through it in an effort to lift it off his forehead, his cheeks were pink from exertion and alluring beads of sweat were rolling down the side of his face towards his neck and delicate collarbones. Aomine had the sudden absurd urge to trace the path of the salty liquid with the flat of his tongue, follow the contours of Tetsu’s jaw and down to that delectable pale expanse of flesh that peeked from the neckline of his basketball uniform.

“Aomine-kun.”

The light reprimand in Kuroko’s voice, which told him the Seirin player had tried to catch his attention multiple times, broke the train of his thoughts which was decidedly heading down a lecherous path.   
He gave a distracted, “Hm?”

“I wanted to thank you. If Aomine-kun had not helped me in the past few days, today’s victory would not have been possible.”

And with that, before Aomine could do more than blink, Tetsu leant in, grabbed the collar of his jacket and jerked his head down. He felt a light pressure on his lips which vanished as suddenly as it began. Raising a shaky hand to his mouth, Aomine looked around him in a daze, searching for a familiar head of shocking light blue hair. Not a soul could be seen in his immediate vicinity. Damn bastard had used his misdirection to disappear!


	4. Chapter 4

If Aomine had expected for things between him and Tetsu to radically change – and he’s not admitting anytime soon that he did – then he clearly, definitely, most certainly thought wrong. After that kiss, if you could call such a fleeting press of lips a kiss, Aomine had stumbled home in a cloud of rising hope, elation and pure confusion. It was one thing for him to grudgingly concede, to himself, that he harboured these tender – _unwelcome_ – feelings towards his ex-shadow but it was an entirely different matter for there to be even the slightest molecule of possibility that these emotions were returned in kind. He had spent the week before their next chance encounter replaying the kiss over and over again and so by the time he actually saw Tetsu face to face again, Aomine had unconsciously convinced himself that they were in a relationship of some sort. So seeing the light haired boy gaze back at him with his usual apathy in response to Aomine’s admittedly squeakier-than-normal greeting had been like a splash of cold water, jolting him back to reality. And to make things a thousand times worse, the stupid red-haired Bakagami had been right next to his ex-shadow, with an arm slung casually over the smaller boys shoulder and the other in the process of reaching up to ruffle the silky blue strands. Seeing the two together, acting so… _couply_ sent him into a tailspin, left him reeling in shock and inevitably led him to become a total and utter bastard to the phantom player.

It wasn’t like Aomine set out with a plan to hurt Kuroko or intentionally throw pointed looks and words that might as well have been barbed arrows dipped in lethal poison. He couldn’t control himself. Whenever he set eyes on Tetsu, his eyebrows would come bearing down into a glare of their own accord; whenever the smaller boy greeted him, his lips would curl into a hateful sneer that he couldn’t stop and whenever Kuroko bravely soldiered past these strong deterrents to start an actual conversation, his tongue would dry up in his mouth then proceed to hurl curt, barbed words in retort whilst his mind screamed in vain for him to just, “ _Shut the hell up!_ ”.

 

* * *

 

 

It was after one of these disastrous confrontations at a chance meeting in Maji Burger’s that whilst Aomine stomped home harshly berating himself (really what was _wrong_ with him?! If there had ever been the chance of the phantom player returning his feelings, he had just shot them all to hell, and that wasn’t even the worst part. Aomine hated the hurt look that clouded Tetsu’s normally blank gaze, the small indent on his lower lip that meant he was chomping down hard in an attempt to hold back tears and the subtle white marks of his clenched fists. And what for, because he had been leaning into Kagami’s friendly embrace or was it because he paid more attention to, looked so fondly at, spoke so admiringly of that big lump of an idiot?), Kuroko decided that enough was enough, he had given Aomine-kun more than adequate time to accept the new direction he _wanted_ , had always wanted, for their relationship to go. He had hoped that the kiss after Seirin’s game with Yosen would be enough to convey his feelings; after all, even Aomine-kun couldn’t be that dense. Kuroko sighed; he had underestimated just how thick and dense his previous light could be. It was time to bust out the big guns, the heavy artillery that he had desperately hoped to never need.

As he slipped his phone out of his school dress pants and flipped it open to press speed dial ‘1’, Kuroko’s thoughts shifted to the dramatic one eighty Aomine’s behaviour had taken. He had seen the pleased look on the tanned boy before Kuroko had slipped away so he was more than surprised when the next time they met, Aomine had reacted with such hostility that was still present now, three weeks later.

A cool, cultured voice broke through his musings, “Tetsuya. You need my help.”

It was not phrased as a question, rather it oddly resounded of command, then again since _he_ was the one on the other end of the line, not so odd. Before Kuroko could respond the authoritative voice continued.

“I assume Daiki has been giving you trouble.”

Kuroko couldn’t stop the small smile that tilted a corner of his mouth up. Although he had not exactly missed the entirely suffocating and dominative way his captain had ruled all the Teiko first string player’s lives, it had also been reassuring that the red head always knew what was going on and how events were going to be played out before they transpired.

“Meet me at the park tomorrow, ten sharp. I will alert the others.”

_Click_.

With Akashi-kun on his side, Aomine-kun wouldn’t stand a chance.


	5. Chapter 5

“Kurokocchi~!”

Kuroko sighed internally, bracing himself for the inevitable enthusiastic glomp that would be bestowed upon him. Sure enough, a blonde blur could be seen streaking across the park and tackling a small boy with bright blue hair.

“I’ve _miiiiissed_ you, Kurokocchi! You never call or answer my texts!” Kise pouted with his arms looped around Kuroko’s neck.

“Kise-kun, please let go of me.”

As the model frantically shook his head in denial, an annoyed voice interrupted his squeals.

“As usual, Oha-Asa was correct. Cancer’s should stay inside and enjoy a peaceful quiet…” Midorima trailed off as he caught sight of the incredulous gapes Kise and Kuroko were directing at him. As silence stretched between the three ex-team mates Midorima shuffled in his spot, uncomfortable with the unflinching stares. Finally he snapped impatiently, “What!”

That broke the trance Kise was in, who promptly fell to the ground clutching at his middle, howling with laughter.

“Y-y-you’re w-wearing-,” the blonde broke off, laughter bubbling uncontrollably to the surface again.

“A tutu,” Kuroko finished with an amused tilt of his lips. This sent Kise into another fit of hysterics.

Sniffing indignantly, Midorima pushed his glasses further up his nose, conveniently covering the light blush that had spread across his cheeks with his taped fingers then opened his mouth, preparing to blast the two with a well formed lecture on the important correlation between lucky items and the wellbeing of one’s health when a tall dark shadow fell over the trio.

“Why is Kise-chin turning blue?” a disinterested voice piped in.

Midorima and Kuroko turned to look up at the purple headed boy who was cradling a mountain of snacks in one arm with a shopping bag bulging of what looked to be more food looped around the same limb and was in the process of tearing open the package of a chocolate bar with the remaining hand.

Kuroko wordlessly pointed at the pink atrocity adorning the shooting guard’s waist. A barely detectable glimmer of humour entered Murasakibara’s eyes.

The three players watched in silence as the blonde tried and failed to stand up whilst gasping desperately for air between residual giggles. It wasn’t until tension thickened the brisk morning air that Kise regained control of himself and stood up straight. The four turned as one towards the red head who had appeared out of nowhere, dipping their heads in greeting.

“Good morning everyone. I’m pleased to see that you’re all on time.”

“But Akashicchi, Aominecchi isn’t here yet…”

At that a wicked smile that would have made the devil himself squirm in discomfort spread across Akashi Seijuro’s face, a smile that signified doom and misery on one Aomine Daiki.

* * *

 

Across town, Aomine woke up in a sweat, looking frantically around his room and half expecting his ex-captain to pop out from his wardrobe. Seeing nothing out of place, he pulled the covers over him and drifted back into a restless sleep still shuddering from the familiar heavy presence and a sense of dreadful premonition that enveloped his body.

* * *

 

Kise was still sullen by the time the plan was set into motion. He couldn’t understand why Akashicchi would favour Aominecchi over him, it was clear that Kise was the one who belonged with Kurokocchi! But the captain had spoken and only a reckless, brainless, idiotic half-witted moron with no sense of self-preservation would dare defy Akashi. So whilst Kise sulked and whined, he had prepped and memorised his lines the night before and was ready to deliver the performance of his lifetime, not that much acting was required. Pretending to be romantically interested in Kurokocchi would be no hardship at all and since Akashicchi had decreed that the two blunettes were destined for each other – and what the red head said, the universe tended to put into action – this would be the last time that the model would be able to hug and touch his smaller teammate freely. Kise was determined to make the most out of his situation.

He turned his best model beam that had been known to send a roomful of girls to sigh and breathlessly lose consciousness on Kuroko who was seated indecently close to him on the diner bench. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the minute blanching of Aomine’s hands as his fingers dug deeper into his palm. His smile turning smug and provocative, Kise snaked his arm around the shadow’s waist and intertwined his fingers with Kuroko’s. As an added measure, he gently nuzzled the soft blue tendrils of his companion’s hair. The model received an approving nod from his ex-captain who was, as expected, seated at the head of the table, even if it was just a table at Maji Burgers. It was time to go in for the kill.

“So Kurokocchi, should I pick you up at eight tomorrow? We are still going to the carnival together right? And after, you can stay at my place!” Kise chirped happily.

* * *

 

The hell, Tetsu was going on a date with that air-headed blonde bastard, let alone staying the night!

Aomine was completely bewildered. While it was normal for Kise to be clingy and over familiar with his ex-shadow, Tetsu had never ever let the model do whatever it was that he was doing now. Just looking at the way Kise was twined around the small boy was enough to make his vision go red and his fists clench and earn to relieve the small forward of his teeth and maybe crook some of the straightness out of his nose. Imagining beating Kise’s face in calmed the power forward down somewhat, this new found sense of peace was utterly shattered upon Tetsu’s quiet reply of, “Okay, Kise-kun.”

The chewed up remains of his teriyaki burger went spraying across the table, landing on Midorima’s food prompting the Cancer to shoot a withering glare at him.

“WHAT?! T-t-tetsu- W-what? You don’t like that twit! Not in that way at least!”

Kuroko sent an expressionless look to his previous light, “At least he had the courage to ask and act on his feelings.”

The seemingly blank statement was loaded with undertone and, honestly, _hint hint_ , Ahomine! The table collectively held their breath, waiting for the darker blunette to drag the other forward by the collar and plant a long awaited smooch then proceed to posture and yell that Tetsu was _his damnit_!

Instead, Aomine paused then blanched and stood up so fast the whole bench skidded back despite Murasakibara’s considerable weight.

“I-I have to go.”

A quick nod to Akashi then he was gone.

Silence reigned over the remaining members of the Generation of Miracles.

“Time to take things up a level.”

This was stated with steel in his voice and a cold ruthless glint in his eye.

The four players looked at their captain, then each other and gulped.


	6. Chapter 6

“Your turn, Shinatro.”

Midorima swallowed forcibly and opened his mouth, preparing to launch into his well thought out spiel of reasons as to why he shouldn’t, couldn’t and wouldn’t pretend to be romantically interested in the phantom player. But before he could utter a single syllable a pair of mismatched eyes turned its laser like gaze towards the tall green haired man at the table. Said shooting guard felt the blood leave his face and dread settle heavily in his stomach.

Akashi clearly took his silence and look of trepidation as agreement as he turned to Kise and commanded him to write down tips and lines for Midorima to follow and practice before the next week.

With a sad mental farewell to his psychological health and stoic reputation, Midorima resigned himself to the performance of a lifetime.

* * *

 

“…remember to smile, maintain eye contact, blush if possible… _flutter eyelashes_?!”

Midorima was about ready to kill all his middle school team mates. But remembering how Akashi was a member, hell, head of said team, he settled for attempting to glare a hole through the smudged, stained and rumpled piece of paper that a certain bubbly blonde had handed to him cheerfully and with no small amount of glee and anticipation. Taking a deep calming breath, the talented long ranged shooter raised the guide and braced himself for further frustration and homicidal thoughts. He was so immersed in mentally commentating – with a heavy dose of snide and sarcasm – at each ridiculous line of script that he failed to notice his team mate creep up behind him, peering over his shoulder curiously. When Midorima felt gentle puffs of air – which sent wonderful shivers up and down his spine and made his leg muscles go weak and jelly like – on the back of his neck, his head shot up and spun around, looking at the dark haired boy guiltily whilst smuggling the cursed sheet unobtrusively into his pocket.

Shutoku’s point guard regarded him suspiciously for a moment before beaming at him and chirping in his annoyingly bright voice, “So, Shin-chan! What’s happening with you? You seemed reeeaaally absorbed in that piece of paper.”

With that, Takao began to manipulate and manoeuvre his way towards the pocket which contained the instructions. Blushing and backing away, Midorima fended his friend – not that he’d admit that to anyone – off with his arms.

“N-nothing! It’s nothing!” It was unfortunate that his voice squeaked with nervousness by the end of his adamant denial. Taking a breath to steady himself, Midorima cleared his throat, pushed up his glasses and repeated, firmly this time, “Takao. It’s nothing for you to worry about. Now, I think we’re late for training.”

Turning, Midorima strode briskly towards the gym leaving Takao staring after his back in the hallway.

* * *

 

As Midorima dragged his feet towards Maji Burgers, a black blur could be seen bounding from corner to corner behind him. Clothed in an outfit of pure black – along with a dark cap and sunglasses – Takao was on a mission. Specifically, a mission to spy on his Shin-chan. The shooting guard had been acting strangely distant and distracted the whole week, he hadn’t been parted from a certain sheet of paper and during any moments of down time the green haired boy would take it out, smooth it reverently and study the words on it in depth, occasionally raising his head and make furtive glances around him to ensure he was alone. Suffice to say, Takao had been intrigued and if prodded further, grudgingly admit a little jealous. Since this… _document_ – this was thought with no little distaste – had appeared, Shin-chan had been completely absorbed and as a result had spent little to no time with Takao, acting defensive and evasive whenever questioned. Finally, after four days of little success, Takao had managed to get a glimpse over Shin-chan’s shoulder. And he had immediately wished that his streak of failure had continued, that he had never managed to lay eyes on that page, for written across the top in bold black letters was, “How to Seduce Kuroko Tetsuya, an Indepth Guide by the Amazing, Brilliant, Fantastic Kise Ryota”.

Takao’s heart had pounded and ached like nothing he had ever felt before, threatening to crack right in two and subsequently sunk to the tips of his toes. How had he not known? He had made it his business to know _everything_ about Shin-chan, from his daily horoscopes and lucky items as ordained by Oha-Asa, the nearest shops that carried the sometimes random and downright lunatic auspicious charms, to the certain phrases, faces and antics Takao had to pull to make him smile on one of his bad days. All of this was meticulously researched, recorded and after many blunders and failures, the end near-perfect data was guaranteed to win the green haired boy’s heart for himself. How could he have been so blind to where Shin-chan’s true affections lay? He had almost given up after seeing what that sheet had so brazenly pronounced but if he was anything, Takao was stubborn. He had to see them for himself.

* * *

 

A thick uncomfortably and awkward silence had descended upon the table of the Generation of Miracles. Murisakibara shuffled minutely in his seat, Kise coughed discreetly, Kuroko sighed internally, Aomine was determinedly scowling down at the table and Midorima was wracking his brains, trying to recall the obnoxious advice Kise had written down. Only Akashi seemed to be perfectly at ease with the tension, delicately picking at his special order from the luxurious restaurant down the road.

Clearing his throat, Midorima tried again, “So…Kuroko…you…um look good today.”

Seeing the unimpressed look Kise was shooting him, the bespectacled boy added in a lewd, horrendously fake wink. Wincing at his pathetic excuse of flirtation he glanced desperately around for help. Unfortunately for him, the only one game enough to meet his gaze was his captain and he froze upon being on the receiving end of the demanding narrow eyed stare. A part of his mind idly wondered if this was what prey in the wild felt like right before the predator at the top of the food chain pounced and tore them to pieces. Akashi’s eyes seemed to bore straight into his brain and the message was suddenly clear, crystal clear, as if the red head had said it out loud, “Up your performance, or there will be consequences.”

Panicked and abruptly aware of the potential that his life span might end right that day, Midorima did the first thing that popped into his head. He reached out, grabbed Kuroko by the ears and planted a big, wet smack onto the phantom player’s lips.

If Midorima had thought the silence before was awful, it was nothing compared to what it was now. It was broken by a tearful gasp from the table beside them. Thinking that he recognised the voice, the green haired boy turned and immediately stopped cold. Oh fuck, his mind helpfully supplied.

Next to them sat Takao. Takao who had tears threatening to spill from eyes that were full of hurt and betrayal. Seeing that he had been discovered he attempted a wobbly smile of greeting then impatiently dashed away the wet trails on his cheeks and practically sprinted out the diner.

Midorima was still for a moment, horror like he had never felt before settled on him like a thick blanket. It was only when Kuroko jabbed him gently in the side with his elbow and giving him a sympathetic look uttered quietly, “Go. Go after him, Midorima-kun.”

That jolted him out of his daze and with a quick glance to his ex-captain, he dashed after the dark haired boy, praying that he could catch up to him.

“Well,” Akashi stated, taking a sip out of the china teacup he had procured out of nowhere at the start of their meeting, “That was unexpected.”

The rest of his ex-team mates shivered sightly. It was clear from the tone of his voice, that everything that had happened that afternoon was in fact _not_ unexpected – maybe even planned – by their uncanny leader.


	7. Chapter 7

“Takao! Wait!”

Midorima pelted down the street at full speed after his errant team mate. Rolling his eyes, he bade his dignity farewell, but then again after what had occurred at Maji Burgers, sprinting down the crowded walkway whilst yelling like a maniac was small fry. He was just thinking that someone up there really had it in for him today when he was divinely proven correct. A small food cart had hurtled out of nowhere, heading straight for Takao. Admist the screams and shouts of warning, the black haired boy could only widen his eyes, raise his arms in an effort to shield his face and brace himself for the painful impact. As expected Takao landed on the ground in a heap but instead of his side exploding with pain, he only felt a heavy pressure on his back. Twisting around in confusion, he met bright green eyes filled with concern.

“Sh-Shin-chan-”

Ignoring the bewilderment in Takao’s voice, Midorima cut across him brusquely, “Takao. Are you alright?” Then proceeded to pat the other boy down, looking for any injuries that he might have sustained.

Takao watched him with tears beginning to blur his vision. He had never seen Shin-chan look so distressed and worried before and against his will, a small bubble of hope began to form.

Assured that Takao was indeed unharmed, Midorima made to rise before collapsing and swearing darkly in pain.

“Shin-chan! What’s wrong?” Takao gently pushed the shooting guard off him and frantically inspected the taller boy’s body before moaning in despair. “Shin-chan! Your ankle!”

Following his friend’s gaze down, Midorima thought mildly that his ankle looked like it had recently consumed an eggplant which had turned radioactive and was now glowing purple through his skin. He had just raised his head to inform Takao of that fact only to see the dark haired boy in full panic mode, squawking at bystanders to call an ambulance, a firetruck, the police, ANYTHING! Instead of cutting the other boy off with a rude sarcastic comment like he normally would, Midorima felt the corner of his mouth kick up in amusement and fondness.

* * *

 “I’m so sorry, Shin-chan! It’s all my fault, if I hadn’t been such an idiot then none of this would have happened…”

Midorima tuned Takao out as he hobbled down the white hallway of the local hospital, struggling to balance on his crutches and clutch the bag of anti-inflammatory medication at the same time. As luck would have had it, he hadn’t broken anything, just sprained his ankle – really badly. As Takao continued to babble apologies, explanations and excuses alongside him, the shooter’s mind wandered. He couldn’t quite comprehend the horrible sinking feeling that had settled over him like a thick blanket back at Maji Burgers when he had realised Takao had seen the whole…incident. Seeing Takao’s broken expression directed at him had felt like being hit by a truck then getting dipped in the frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean and then being forcibly made to swallow a gigantic meteorite which then settled at the pit of his stomach. Frowning slightly, Midorima could feel the answer to his overreaction slowly dawning on him. Annoyed that the thought was flitting through his fingertips, refusing to settle, he broke down the situation and began to analyse the pieces. The fact that he had reacted to Takao’s pain meant that – Midorima gulped – he _cared_ about his team mate. That idea made him break into a sweat, he was Midorima Shintaro for heaven’s sake, he wasn’t meant to care about _anyone_ let alone the annoying, yappy-won’t-shut-up-to-save-his-life, clingy, intelligent, funny, reliable, adorably cute –

Midorima skidded to a halt. The reality of the situation and his feelings came crashing down on him like a tonne of cement blocks. He was almost as delusional and stupid as Ahomine – _almost_.

“Takao!” Midorima barked.

The point guard stopped midsentence and blinked up at him.

“We need to talk.”

Takao paled as he remembered exactly why this accident had occurred. Despite his best efforts, moisture gathered over his vision and he turned his face away.

Sighing, Midorima shuffled to the row of plastic chairs which lined the hall. He motioned to Takao to take the seat next to him before stacking his crutches on his other side. Before Midorima could begin his explanation, Takao was already off, rambling at such high speeds the bespectacled boy could only catch phrases which sounded a lot like, “I was worried, and a bit jealous…trying to confirm my suspicious…I know it was wrong to follow and spy on you…I’m so so so so so sorry…I’ll understand if you never forgive me…but you and Kuroko…kissing…...and it hurt to see you two together but you looked so cute as a couple…”

At that, Midorima had to cut his friend off. What the hell? Him and Kuroko _cute_ together?! Where did that come from, and did Takao just say he was _jealous_ and _hurt_? Something a lot like masculine satisfaction and relief – it was clear to him that Takao returned his less than platonic feelings – welled up in his chest which he promptly shoved aside to concentrate on the, admittedly, one sided conversation.

“Will you listen to me, Takao!”

For the second time in as many minutes, Takao fell silent, looking up at Midorima like a kicked puppy begging to be forgiven by its adored master. Letting out a frustrated huff, Midorima attempted to explain the muddled, ludicrous situation.

“So, do you understand now?”

Looking down at his team mate Midorima was understandably shocked when he saw pure sympathy and pain in silvery blue eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Shin-chan. I completely understand how hard unrequited love is to deal with. I can only imagine how long you must have kept your feelings for Kuroko-san secret-“

“WHAT?! No! No, no, no, no, NO!” Midorima reeled back in horror at that thought, “Damnnit Takao! Don’t you get what I’m trying to say?”

“I do! You’re in love with Kuroko-san but Akashi-san is making you help Kuroko-san and Aomine-san get together instead-“

Deciding that the only way to get his real intentions across was to repeat this afternoon’s performance – albeit in a hopefully much less awkward and uncomfortable way – Midorima gently cupped Takao’s cheek with a shaky hand and muttering a silent prayer, closed his eyes and lightly pressed his lips against Takao’s. He could feel the other boy stiffen in surprise but determined to prove his point, Midorima increased the pressure, drawing closer to the dark haired boy.

The reaction Midorima was searching for came out of nowhere; with a muffled joyful cry, Takao flung his arms around the taller boy’s neck and proceeded to kiss Midorima to an inch of his life. Smiling slightly, Midorima slid his other arm around Takao’s waist and pulled the other boy into his lap.

* * *

After getting the hysterical and confusing call from Takao, the remaining members of the Generation of Miracles raced to the hospital. They were just barrelling around the last corner when Akashi, leading the pack, came to an abrupt stop causing the rest of his ex-teammates to crash into his back. Shooting them an annoyed look, he returned to surveying the scene before them. A satisfied and sly smile slid across his face before returning to its previous blank expression. Turning around and strolling down the hallway leisurely, he called back to the group of gobsmacked players, “Come. They need their privacy.”

Aomine, Kuroko, Kise and Murisakibara automatically responded to the command, walking dazedly behind their leader, their jaws still on the floor. Aomine recovered his ability to speak first, “W-w-w-what was t-that? S-s-since when…?”

“Don’t think too hard Daiki, your brain’s not used to it. Come along now.”


	8. Chapter 8

Akashi wasted no time in pushing his following plans into motion. Sending a meaningful look to the giant next to him he tilted his head subtly towards the two bluenettes walking in front of them. Other than an almost inaudible sigh, Murasakibara offered no complaints and moved forward obediently. He would only ever do this for his adored Aka-chin. Still munching on the packet of crisps he held in one large hand, he proceeded to interject himself between the ex-partners. One of whom immediately began to yell abuse and demands of explanations for his actions. Shooting Mine-chin a brief quelling look, Murasakibara peered down at his smallest team mate. After a quiet moment of contemplation he stretched out his arm, offering the phantom player the colourful metallic foil package reverently.

“It’s the new flavour.”

The loud protests coming out of Aomine’s mouth abruptly stopped. Kuroko in turn glanced impassively over his shoulder at his devil of an ex-captain before smiling slightly up at taller boy.

“Thank you, Murasakibara-kun, it’s very kind of you to offer,” Kuroko murmured, reaching daintily into the packet and withdrawing a chip. Coincidentally, he caught sight of Aomine-kun’s face whence he quickly stuffed the salty treat into his mouth before he burst out laughing. The pale boy could already hear an odd noise coming from behind him which, funnily enough, sounded a lot like Kise-kun’s gurgle of laughter which was abruptly strangled at the end, most probably their illustrious leader’s doing. Instead of turning around and getting sucked into the blonde’s crazy antics, Kuroko marched stoically along with Murasakibara-kun, occasionally engaging in quiet conversation, leaving his light standing stock still in the middle of the pathway.

* * *

It was going to take a force of nature for Aomine to scrape his jaw off the floor. His mind was in a whirl trying desperately to process the highly irregular happenings of the past few hours. And even though it hurt his head and made his eyes sting a little from concentrating so hard, it was a lot better than to dwell on the heavy feeling in his stomach, the hard lump in his throat and a hell of a lot better than to sort out the intermittent pulses of sharp stabs in his chest.

The afternoon, in fact the past month, had gone from irritating to something that seemed to have crawled its way out of his darkest nightmares. Before today, he had prayed that this was some kind of evil twisted prank being played by the universe. Firstly, seeing Kise’s hands and body all over Kuroko had been bad, and sure, Aomine had wanted to rip the stupidly pretty blonde’s head from his torso for even _thinking_ of looking at _his_ shadow, let alone actually laying a hand on him, but he had known that despite what Kuroko might have said that one afternoon, it had meant nothing to the small bluenette.

But then _Midorima_ of all people suddenly developed an avid interest in Kuroko. Only one phrase had been going through Aomine’s mind, the second he realised the green-haired boy’s intentions, “What. The. Actual. Hell.” That smug arrogant son of a bitch had never shown any partiality towards Kuroko. Ever. What could have possibly possessed the long ranged shooter to fucking _kiss_ his shadow? Then to make things even more bizarre, to the point where Aomine’s brain was actually starting to throb, Midorima had raced off before the kiss was even finished to chase after that Shutoku point guard. That was the one point Aomine couldn’t get over. How could someone have the honour of kissing those pouty lips and not take full advantage. Hell, Aomine had only gotten the briefest of tastes of Kuroko’s mouth and he had been dreaming, _yearning_ , to repeat the experience. That bespectacled bastard had gotten a full extra 0.5 seconds on Aomine and had run like a bat out of hell, through the door, after another male. To the formless shooter, this was taking idiocy to the edges of extreme.

Then the whipped cream on top of this messed-up-afternoon-sundae-from-the-depths-of-hell – because, no, the cherry was yet to come – was getting a desperate, hysterical call from Takao that Midorima was in the fucking hospital. The whole team of miracles had frozen and stared at each other in horror and abject fear before getting up as one and racing to the hospital at inhumane speeds – all the while attempting to push down the tidal wave of concern and muttering prayers to any deities who deigned to listen – only to find upon getting there that Midorima was _fine_ , more than fine, from the way he was clutching at the dark haired boy in his lap. And seriously, ew, Aomine could have lived the rest of his life happily without having to see his superstitious teammate eating another guy’s face off.

As according to Akashi’s wishes, the former teammates left the hospital quietly, leaving the two new love birds in peace and before they had walked more than half a mile from the place and WAY before the shock had settled, the metaphorical cherry from purgatory landed on the sundae of suffering that was Aomine’s life. Murasakibara offered Kuroko his snack. An opened snack that the freakishly toy boy had already started on. A snack that was of the current ‘Limited Edition Flavour of the Week’ promotion. Aomine’s heart stopped then and there. This, coming from the Yosen player, was equivalent to a fucking marriage proposal from anyone else. Aomine’s poor abused organ was abruptly restarted by the kick to his chest when he saw Kuroko accepting said proffered treat. And still, Aomine clung onto the hope that this was some sick joke but not once did his former partner glance back at him, to gauge his reaction or to shoot a rare cheeky smile that would have signalled that everything was fine, it was just a joke and ‘relax, Aomine-kun’. Instead the four Teiko teammates continued along the path as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, as if Aomine’s universe had not suddenly swerved and severely tilted off its axis. He was so used to Kuroko being the centre of his world, and even during their falling out, Aomine had held onto the belief that his shadow would come back, come back to him and thus had reserved that spot, keeping it empty, waiting for his partner to realise that he had belonged to and always will to Aomine Daiki.

But now, Aomine wasn’t so sure that he ever had.


	9. Chapter 9

For the first – and _last_ , Kuroko added emphatically to himself – time in his life, the sixth man of the Generation of Miracles attempted to refuse to obey his former captain’s whims and reject one of his famously torturous plans. There was no way on earth, this entire freaking universe in fact, that he would be able to keep a stoic game face on if he made a move on him – real or not. Plus, no matter how deep Aomine-kun’s feelings ran for his former shadow, once he saw that _Akashi_ was interested in Kuroko, he would back off faster than a chipmunk could stuff its cheeks full of nuts when another chipmunk threatened its stash, kind of like Kagami with a steak actually.

“…Akashi-kun, please…”

A pair of heterochromatic eyes gazed silently into pale blue ones that were slowly beginning to waver. Right before Kuroko could sigh in frustration and throw his hands up in defeat, Akashi blinked and a chilling smile curled the corners of his lips.

“You’re right Tetsuya. Daiki would not…respond well.”

“Talk about the understatement of the entire history of histories,” Kise muttered under his breath.

Other than the subtle narrowing of laser sharp eyes – which sent the blonde who had spoken just seconds before to run and cower behind his tallest team mate, trembling all over – the red head seemed to brush aside the interruption and began to outline his back-up scheme.

One which made Kuroko pale even further. Thankfully another voice chimed in, tentatively cutting off Akashi. Whilst the red heard upgraded his mildly annoyed look to an irritated glare, he pondered absently that it seemed to him, like it was a day of death wishes.

“What about Kagami?” Midorima queried. “He would be a suitable candidate, after all Aomine already shares an unhealthy rivalry with him and Kuroko clearly – ”

“NO.”

Heads of all colours of the rainbow spun around to stare incredulously at their leader. The only other time they had heard him so purposefully forceful was when he had booted Haizaki out. And that was a can of worms no one wanted to touch with a ten foot pole reinforced with a hazmat suit.

Although there was a myriad of logical arguments whirling around Midorima’s head, he wisely chose to keep them to himself. Instead he opted for the safest route of action; he clamped his mouth shut and waited patiently for one of his former team mates to put their foot onto the proverbial land mine waiting to explode. His bets were on Kise.

Sure enough, after 2 long minutes of heavy silence the blonde basketball player was already bouncing on his toes with unbridled curiosity and after 3, he was actively biting on his tongue to keep from speaking but he lost the battle at 3 minutes and 27 seconds.

“Why Akashicchi???”

The others winced and mentally gave thanks for their resident imitator’s life and prayed for his safe passing into the afterlife. They were understandably left spluttering with shock when all their captain did was to reach up and ruffle the blonde hairs affectionately and explain patiently, fierce possession evident in his quiet voice, “Because he’s mine.”

Kise fainted.

* * *

Happy, boisterous chatter filtered through the sound of taps squeaking, towels snapping and lockers slamming in the basketball club’s locker room. Kagami ran a tired hand raggedly through his flaming hair and mustered up an exhausted smile at his teammates as they trickled out the change room, clapping his back as they passed. Finally, when there was only silence punctured by the sporadic plops of water droplets and Kagami’s soft puffs of breath, the red head relaxed and prepared for a scalding hot shower, that is if his team mates hadn’t used it all up, before heading home and maybe, hopefully – _doubtfully_ , a voice ridiculously similar to his shadow chimed – study for the maths test tomorrow. At this thought, Kagami whipped his head up and turned in a circle slowly, eyes narrowed suspiciously and prodding the shadows and corners of the room. Convinced that Kuroko wasn’t lying in wait to pop out and scare the living daylights out of him – and reflexively waving away the faint concern that the pale boy indeed wasn’t around, in fact hadn’t been around for the past week – Kagami strolled over to the showers.

Letting the water stream over his body, Kagami worked out the kinks that had developed during the day’s practice and allowed his mind to wander. His thoughts inevitably turned to the one person he had been unable to stop thinking about for the past few months, and unerringly, his cock perked in interest. Kagami, having learnt through experience that the damn thing wouldn’t leave him alone until he complied with its wishes, slid a hand down his stomach, formed a steady grip at the base of his erection and gave an anticipatory squeeze. Throwing his head back with a drawn out moan, Kagami began to pump, fuelled on by the assortment of images that danced behind his closed eyelids; a small but leanly muscled body, an expanse of smooth pale skin, control and authority dripping from every word and gesture, piercing slightly manic eyes of blood red and molten gold framed by ruby locks and most arousing of all, daintily formed hands that were deceptively strong, overpowering and _dominating_ him. Kagami’s breath hitched tellingly with that image in mind and his hand closed tighter and moved faster.

“A-Aka-A-“

“Taiga.”

The unexpected interruption of his breathless pants and moans by the smooth cultured voice from his fantasies was enough to tip Kagami over the edge. As he worked himself through his unusually intense orgasm, the fleeting thought that his imaginings were becoming more realistic prickled at the edge of his mind. He promptly shrugged that speculation away as he cleaned himself.

“ _Taiga_.”

Jumping at his name and with a hand pressed to his pounding chest, Kagami whipped around – praying that whoever the fuck it was had only just come in and missed the show – cheeks reddened and intending to direct a baleful glare at the intruder, instead all the colour drained out of his face and his jaw went slack as he gaped wordlessly at the apparition of the notorious captain of the Generation of Jackasses.

The slow rise in a perfectly curved red brow snapped Kagami into action.

“Jesus! Fuck, Akashi! W-w-what the _hell_ are you doing here!” Kagami floundered around, simultaneously snapping the tap closed and groping blindly for his towel before slapping it hurriedly over his junk.

Kagami looked up in trepidation as he witnessed a smug sensuous smirk take over Akashi’s face. The small Rakuzan began advancing towards him, his gait resembling that of a sinuous panther stalking its prey, slowly manipulating Kagami towards the wall of the shower. When the taller boy’s back hit the wall Akashi raised his arms to Kagami’s shoulders, framing him and preventing escape.

Kagami gulped under the heavy heterochromatic gaze and began to splutter an excuse, demand for an explanation, anything really at this point. The situation he found himself in was way, way, _way_ , too similar to his flights of imagination for comfort and despite having just come like a minute ago, his cock was raring to go again; he ruthlessly clamped the towel tighter against himself.

“So, Taiga,” Akashi spoke effortlessly over his ramblings, and it wasn’t fair how wonderful his name sounded rolling off of Akashi’s lips or that his half hard cock twitched in response, and if there was any proof that there really was no justice in this world, then Akashi’s smirk deepening knowingly and the repetition of that slow drawl of his name was it.

“Taiga,” God damnnit, it was closer to a purr this time, “was that _my_ name you were moaning earlier?”

And that answered Kagami’s question on exactly how long Akashi had been standing there watching, the pervert. While Kagami scrambled for a logical reason as to why he was moaning the other’s name, Akashi was drawn to the beads of water that were slowly making their way from the tips of red strands of hair to the strong angle of Kagami’s jaw, meandering down the planes of his neck before settling in the dip of his collar bone. Akashi suddenly felt the desire to lick at the little puddle, and having never been in the habit of denying himself anything, he certainly wasn’t going to start now.

Once again, Kagami’s words were cut off, and he should really start to get annoyed at these constant interruptions if not for the novel sensation of a small tongue lapping at his neck. The Seirin player froze before a shudder wracked through his whole body and when the little licks turned into nibbles and gentle sucking a guttural groan was wrenched from his throat. Kagami reached out on instinct when he felt his knees starting to give way, clutching at Akashi’s slim hips and inadvertently pulled the smaller boy closer to him. He didn’t calculate for the towel to fall away, without his hands to hold it into place, and certainly didn’t expect to feel an answering hardness from the fiery captain. But it was the eager way Akashi was trying to worm himself closer to Kagami that finally clued him in. With that revelation, Kagami responded in kind. He gently tugged at the others chin, lifting Akashi off his throat and guided him to his lips instead.

That was the last control Kagami was allowed to exert that day.

* * *

_Meanwhile on the other side of town_

Murasakibara was uncharacteristically grumbling his way through town. He had lost by virtue of unanimous voting that he would be the one to carry the unconscious Kise. There were times, increasingly as of late, that he hated his height and envied his smaller team mates. It meant that physical labour wouldn’t be forced onto you and it was so much easier to be lovable and adorable when one was diminutive in stature. After all, those were the types of people Muro-chin seemed to chase after all the time. Murasakibara settled into a morose expression at that thought and was content to continue on silently towards Kise-chin’s house when a small prod at his side caused him to glance down at his smallest team mate.

Kuroko was pointing at a figure across the street, “Isn’t that Himuro-kun?”

A cursory glance confirmed that it was indeed his Yosen friend. A friend who looked strangely irritated…at him, Murasakibara realised with a start. Muro-chin was gazing directly at him as he strode across to their side of the street in long angry strides. It was as he reached the group of Generation of Miracle members that Kise chose to rouse slightly from his faint, snuggling into the warm body that cradled him and slinging an arm roughly around Murasakibara’s neck affectionately. All the while, Muro-chin’s gaze grew darker and angrier and a fascinating tick developed on the corner of his jaw.

In one swift move, Himuro wrenched Kise’s body roughly from a startled Murasakibara and dropped him gracelessly on top of an unsuspecting Midorima. While Midorima struggled with the dead weight of an unconscious Kise and Kuroko fluttered around them trying to help with his meagre strength, Himuro clasped Murasakibara’s hand in a death grip and dragged him off.

“Damn it Atsushi, what the hell was that blond oaf doing in your arms, huh? Are you trying to provoke me? I’m the only one who should ever be allowed anywhere near your person, well other than Akashi, I know how much you love him,” he petulantly admitted, “I thought you didn’t even like those old team mates of yours.”

“No,” Murasakibara said, content that his Muro-chin was beside him and effectively holding his hand, “I like them. They’re my friends and they make me happy. But I’ll always like you best, you make me the happiest. You always get me the best snacks.”

At this, Himuro softened from his previously heated expression and smiled up at his tall friend fondly, his gaze tender. He stopped his quick pace and rummaged in his pockets before procuring a slim, brightly wrapped package. Murasakibara’s eyes widened comically at the sight.

“That’s the newest flavour of the really rare limited edition series of an exclusive brand of umaibo!” the tall centre crowed excitedly.

Himuro chuckled and handed the snack over to the eagerly awaiting Murasakibara, “I know, it took me forever to track down a shop which carried them and then I had to place a special order and even then I could only get my hands on a few.”

At his explanation, Murasakibara paused in his frantic tearing of his highly prized snack and looked down at Muro-chin with awe and adoration clear in his gaze.

“You did all of that for me?” He asked shyly.

“Of course.”

It was the matter of fact tone that made up Murasakibara’s mind, he gave one last lingering gaze to the cylinder of _deliciousness_ in his hand before shoving it into his jacket for later. He reclaimed Muro-chin’s hand and pulled him tentatively forwards and moving slowly, so that the other boy would have ample time to pull away, he pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. Murasakibara drew back slightly to gauge Muro-chin’s response and upon seeing the blinding smile which had overtaken the other Yosen’s face he went back for several more kisses.

He soon discovered that Muro-chin’s flavour tasted far better than any other snack he had ever eaten, limited edition or otherwise.

* * *

“I knew I should have stayed at home today. Oha-Asa said that –“

“As if Midorima-kun would ever have ignored Akashi-kun’s summons. Like anyone of us ever could.”

Midorima sighed as he attempted to juggle Kise’s body, keep his balance and avoid Kuroko’s well-meaning help which was more of a hindrance than anything. Just as he thought he had everything in control, a loud protest broke his concentration and he could only watch in dismay as Kise fell out of his grip, his blonde head aiming straight for the unforgivingly hard pavement. Out of nowhere a streak of denim clad Kaijo captain came flying to the rescue, catching his kohai right before the accident could occur.

Honestly, Midorima thought huffily, Kise’s life was a freaking fairy-tale. Not only was his former team mate ridiculously good looking and talented in anything and everything that he set his mind to, he also had this brightness that he carried around infecting everyone with happiness, regardless of whether said infected victim wanted to feel happy or not. Although the Generation of Miracles constantly berated and picked on the blonde model, he was an integral part of their group of friends, as reluctant as Midorima was to admit it. They had all disliked that while Kise was so very clearly obsessed with Kuroko, the pale haired boy couldn’t return his feelings. So they had tried to distract him, teasing and play fighting in an effort to sooth his hurt, constantly watching and monitoring to ensure that their personal sun would still shine bright. God, Midorima might have just gagged into his mouth at that sappy line of thought. But it was through this close scrutiny that they had all noticed that since the year had begun, Kise had been, well, even happier and more gratingly cheerful than before. It wasn’t until Shutoku’s first game with Seirin that Midorima discovered the root of the cause. He had seen Kise easily in the stands, he was glowing that brightly. There was a black haired boy in the same Kaijo uniform beside him who engaged him easily in conversation and the blonde’s smile had been visible a mile away. Midorima’s growing suspicion had been confirmed after the match, Takao and he had stumbled upon the entire Seirin team, Kise and the mystery boy at the okonomiyaki restaurant. He had seen the yearning and tenderness in Kise’s expression as his captain had moved to join Takao at another table. Kuroko had noticed too. And from that point on the entire Generation of Miracles had kept an eye on Kasamatsu Yukio and his developing relationship with their Kise.

Now, Midorima and Kuroko watched on as a frantic Kasamatsu checked Kise for any injuries and gently shaking him to rouse him. And just like the movies, Kise blinked open his honey gold eyes and murmured his captain’s name before breaking into a beaming welcome smile at him. The relief radiating from the dark haired boy was obvious to anyone with more than two brain cells to rub together. And the picture they formed on the asphalt was nauseatingly sweet; a golden haired beauty sprawled unconscious in the arms of his dark haired dashing prince only to awaken prettily and ride off into the blasted sunset together. With that, the two former teammates traded knowing looks and turned simultaneously and walked determinedly away.

* * *

“Kise! You idiot! Are you alright?” The warm bubbly feeling that appeared whenever his captain was nearby had Kise nodding blisfully and accepting the hand that appeared to help him up. Yukiocchi was still looking at him in concern when the blonde swayed, wobbly on his feet. A pair of strong arms were immediately there, supporting him and Kise leant gratefully into his captain’s warmth. They began the short walk home to Kise’s house, with Kasamatsu’s arm around his waist and Kise, taking advantage of the fact that he was supposed to be invalid at the moment, snuggled happily into the arm, knowing that Yukiocchi would never push him away when he thought Kise to be injured.

As they walked, Kise babbled cheerily, informing his sempai of the recent mischief the Generation of Miracles had created not noticing the way Kasamatsu’s body stiffened when he heard of the plan to make Kuroko jealous through Kise’s affections. The blonde’s voice increased in volume as he related with wide eyes and wild hand gestures that, “Akashicchi _likes_ Kagamicchi! Can you believe it, Yukiocchi?!”

Kasamatsu rolled his eyes in fond exasperation and let his kohai continue talking animatedly, listening diligently and adding comments here and there, content to just spend time with his Ryota.


	10. Chapter 10

A warm breeze floated through the open window, bringing with it mild relief from the stuffiness of the classroom. Kuroko swept a hand lazily over his fringe, and turned his bored gaze from the teacher to stare outside at the school grounds. It was the nearing the end of spring already, nearly four months since the Winter Cup, and he had yet to make any real progress with his former light. Glancing at his current light slumped in front of him, he couldn't help the small quirk of the corner of his mouth, Kagami's chin was precariously propped on his right hand and with each soft snore and gentle rhythmic dip of his head…BAM! The inevitable happened, the Seirin ace's face slammed into the wooden desk with a resounding thud that effectively woke the entire class up and brought the red faced teacher to the corner of the classroom.

"Kagami-kun. Am I _boring_ you?"

Red faced, Kagami leapt to his feet, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck with a large hand.

"S-sorry, sensei. Won't happen again."

The older man sighed and turned to walk back to the front muttering, "That's what you said last time, and the time before that, and the time…"

As the monotonous droning that was supposed to be teaching resumed, Kagami discreetly turned in his chair, "Hey, Kuroko, wanna grab a burger after practice? Feel like I haven't seen you around since-"

The red head paused and coughed, blushing. Kuroko had no qualms about finishing that thought off.

"Since Kagami-kun became Akashi-kun's boyfriend?" the pale haired boy sang innocently.

Kagami growled lowly, his face now a flaming ruby, "W-we're not boyfriends! We're…seeing each other, that's all!"

This emphatic statement was punctuated by the shrill ring of the bell, signalling the end of the day.

Beginning to pack away his books, Kuroko shrugged and tucked away a smirk, "Is that what Akashi-kun thinks as well?"

Kagami paled and looked distinctly edgy as his eyes flickered around the room, half expecting his terrifying lover to materialise in front of him. His shoulders relaxed a fraction when no heterochromatic gaze laser beamed his body in half and he turned back to his shadow to continue their conversation.

"Yes Taiga, please, do answer Tetsuya's question," a silky smooth voice commanded. Kagami groaned in resignation and dropped his head in defeat. He knew what was coming, what he had to do. Dragging his body reluctantly out of the chair, he approached Akashi cautiously before gently encircling the smaller boy in his arms and dipping his head slightly to meet the expectant lips of his "boyfriend," his mind helpfully supplied. All the while Kagami valiantly ignored the giggles, snickers and wistful sighs of his classmates. This had become a common occurrence since the _incident_ in the locker room two weeks ago. Kagami would inevitably put his foot in his mouth and end up grovelling and apologising in a public arena with a grand gesture of affection. Akashi had demanded it.

* * *

Kuroko watched the scene with barely concealed envy. He wanted what they had. Someone to hold, to kiss, to adore and be adored by; someone to call in the middle of the night when he couldn't fall asleep, someone to hold his hand on dates that were carefully planned just for him; someone to sling a protective arm around him, claiming him in front of everyone, and above all; someone to see him, all of him, to the point where they would never lose track of him or forget about him, even if he had a weak presence. The blunette shook his head ruefully, no, he didn't want someone or anyone, he wanted _Aomine Daiki_.

Kuroko had appreciated his Teiko teammates' attempts to help rectify the situation but all that had resulted were for all of _them_ to find their other half and Aomine to distance himself even further. And while he would never begrudge his friends of happiness, his mind couldn't help but sulkily pout that it was supposed to be him that was finding true love and all that jazz.

As the two red heads finally broke away from each other, both slightly out of breath, Kuroko wiped the bitter expression from his face and replaced it with his usual bland look. But Kuroko should have known better, even with Kagami's arm cuddling him and nose nuzzling his hair, and his usual fierce, cold eyes softened considerably, Akashi saw everything. His former captain pursed his lips slightly, analysing the passing specialists face before giving a short brief look, clearly satisfied with what he had found.

Leading his taller boyfriend by the hand, Akashi stated calmly, "I have spoken to your coach. Your practice is to be postponed until tomorrow. Now, let us go eat."

Sharing a bewildered look, the two Seirin players eventually shrugged their shoulders and followed him out of the school obediently. Kuroko had the distinct uneasy inkling that his ex-captain was up to something. Well, Akashi was always up to something, but this time he had a feeling that it had something to do with him, specifically. And despite his best attempts, he couldn't squash the small bubble of hope that had formed in his chest. Maybe Akashi-kun hadn't given up on The Grand Plan; maybe he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. Suddenly a thought came to him and a small frown marred his brow.

_'Akashi-kun's plans have never failed before. I don't think it's even possible for that to happen. What was different this time? Unless…"_

* * *

A dark blue phone buzzed insistently beside the napping boy. He sighed before reaching over and flicking it open and immediately proceeded to roll his eyes in frustration. Nevertheless, he dusted himself off before heading towards the stairs that led from the school roof down to the gates.

_"Daiki, Maji Burgers in half an hour."_


	11. Chapter 11

Kuroko resolutely stared down at the table and sipped sullenly at his vanilla milkshake. The two redheads sitting with him were seemingly oblivious to their friend’s sulking as they continued to make eyes at each other. Kuroko half expected one of them to throw dignity and inhibition away at any moment now and leap across the table and start mauling at the other. He mentally gagged at that thought. So it was with great relief on the pale haired boy’s part, when a shadow fell across their table. Looking up to greet the inevitable appearance of a member of the Generation of Miracles (somehow everything that had been of significance seemed to either involve, occur or begin at Maji Burgers) Kuroko’s heart flopped in trepidation and timid hope when his light blue eyes met familiar glittering sapphires.

“Ah, Daiki, you made it.”

Shooting a vaguely annoyed look at Akashi, Aomine dumped his tray heaped with teriyaki burgers and fries down on the remaining seat at the table, which was conveniently situated across from Kuroko.

Grunting a brief, “Tetsu,” in greeting and nonchalantly sliding an extra-large vanilla shake across the table, he proceeded to devour the food in front of him with gusto. Seeing this, Kagami took it as a challenge of some form and determinedly peeled the wrapping from the first of his pile and stuffed the entirety of it into his mouth. Aomine paused and narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the red head who just grinned jeeringly back, revealing lumps of unchewed burger in the process. That was it. War had been declared and there was no backing down. The two fierce aces were a blur of motion as they methodically unwrapped, stuffed, chewed (this step was optional), and swallowed. Repeat.

The two remaining basketball players shared a look of exasperation, well, Akashi’s eyebrows were slightly wrinkled and Kuroko’s eyelid had twitched once. Cradling his new tumbler of vanilla goodness reverently, Kuroko’s previous irritation and bad mood lifted with every burger that disappeared, and was replaced, instead, with a mixture of fondness and intense warmth that only the dark skinned boy had ever been able to bring out in him. His contented observation continued until Kagami slammed the last wrapper down triumphantly, punctuating his victory with an obnoxious slurp of his Coke and a loud belch with a fond pat to his newly formed paunch.

Kagami was just about to taunt his arch rival on how he had lost _again_ , when a small insistent hand tugged on his.

“Taiga, we are going to miss the movie.”

“Crap! I completely forgot, gotta go! See ya Kuroko, Ahomine,” still snickering, Kagami swept out of the fast food restaurant behind his boyfriend.

Outside Maji, Akashi glanced back through the window to see Aomine’s flabbergasted expression and smirked smugly in satisfaction. His plan was well on the way to completion.

* * *

What. The. Hell.

Aomine’s brain was spluttering in absolute shock. Akashi, their brilliant, commanding, terrifying, _insane_ captain was…was… _with_ Kagami? Just that mental image had him reaching for the bleach to eradicate any stray thoughts on that – couple. But…Kagami was in love with Tetsu! Wasn’t he?

Swinging his gaze from the slowly closing doors of the entrance to the boy sitting in front of him, Aomine demanded in a shaky voice, “What was _that_?!”

Tetsu blinked up at him and finished off his drink with a relish before replying in a matter-of-fact tone, “They’re dating.”

Like that answered anything.

“Since when!”

“Two weeks.”

“B-but, Kagami and y-you.”

To Aomine, the slight twitch of the left corner of Tetsu’s lip in response to that remark was equivalent of a full blown condescending glare from anyone else.

“Kagami-kun and I are friends.”

With that, the Seirin player got up and slipped through the crowd to order more food.

Aomine slumped back into his seat, rubbing his forehead. If what just happened had actually just happened, and wasn’t just a figment of his imaginations, then everything had changed. Bakagami wasn’t into Tetsu and there were clearly no feelings on his former shadow’s behalf either. No matter how well Kuroko was able to hide his emotions from others, to Aomine, he was an open book; Aomine would have been able to pick up on even the tiniest scrap of resentment, smallest sliver of jealously and slightest hint of hurt that would have flickered across Tetsu’s face when Akashi had taken Kagami’s hand or when Kagami had so clearly brushed them off in preference for the Rakuzan player’s company.

It finally hit him that there were no obstacles anymore. With hungry eyes, he unerringly located Tetsu amongst the mass of customers, trying desperately, and failing, to catch the attention of the assistant behind the counter. With a fond smile Aomine rose from his seat and headed towards his shadow. Slipping behind him easily, Aomine rested a hand on Tetsu’s hip in the pretence of maintaining his balance before leaning over the smaller boy’s shoulder to place their order. Thanks to his earlier epiphany, Aomine was on high alert and took notice of the way Tetsu had stiffened underneath him and the slight hitch in his breath. To confirm his suspicions once and for all, on the way back to their table, he gently encircled a dainty wrist with his hand and sure enough, Tetsu’s pulse was pounding away. Aomine gleefully tightened his grip, his own heart beating an elated, rapid rhythm.

The two slipped into a familiar and companionable quiet, punctuated by quiet remarks and light laughter, smiles that shone in their eyes and shy, affectionate glances at each other. Aomine had missed this. During their Teiko years, this had been a near daily occurrence after a hard session of practice. They were sometimes joined by their team mates but more often than not, it had been the two of them. Aomine had considered those occasions the bright point in his day; he had eagerly looked forward to them and had treasured those moments dearly. He hated that it was because of him their friendship – and that lingering hope and sense that there was something _more_ – had been cut so cruelly and abruptly. It wasn’t until Tetsu had up and vanished at the end of their third year and Aomine, previously the go-to guy on the whereabouts of the phantom sixth man, had been unable to find him – and trust him, he had _tried_ , hell he hadn’t put so much effort into a single activity before – that he realised just how engrained Tetsu was in his life. He wasn’t just his faithful shadow or the best friend he had ever had or even the one person who had understood and known him completely and yet still accepted every flawed aspect of his person without question, Tetsu was a part of him. Losing him had been horribly painful and left him agonisingly lonely.

As their second meal drew to a close, Aomine resolved to rectify his past blunder. The evening felt significantly cooler than the previous hours of daylight as he walked Tetsu to the station. Aomine wracked his brains for the right phrase to smoothly inject his intentions into their conversation. The overhead speaker announced that Tetsu’s train was approaching, and the pale bluenette turned to say goodbye. Aomine panicked. Before he could rethink his actions, his arms had reached out on their own volition to pull the shorter boy into his chest and his lips had slammed against his.

Electricity seemed to flow between them, shooting waves of shock down Aomine’s body, energising every nook and cranny and when Kuroko’s hands came up shyly to rest on his shoulder and to tangle in his hair, Aomine swore that he could see fireworks go off behind his closed eyes. The tiny, tentative touch of Tetsu’s tongue on the seam of his lips had the taller boy’s knees waver and threaten to give out. The shrill reminder of the loudspeaker pulled the two apart, gasping. Now _that_ , that was a kiss.

Resting his forehead on Tetsu’s, Aomine pressed a soft peck to the tip of his adorable nose before demanding breathlessly, “Go out with me.”

The blinding smile that spread across Kuroko’s face had Aomine kicking himself for not doing this so much earlier. He was an idiot, pure and simple.

“About time, Aomine-kun.”


	12. Chapter 12

The haze of elation lasted until Aomine opened the door to admit his childhood friend into his home, that night. Sitting down, and breaking the news to Satsuki was easier said than done. A tense and heavy silence hung over the pair as Aomine concluded his long-winded, convoluted and downright confusing relation of events.

“O-oi, Satsuki…”

The pink-haired girl shook her bowed head slightly. Aomine had known her long enough to know when to give her time and space. He chewed on his lower lip in concern before getting up silently and padding into his kitchen. Opening the top most cupboard – the one Satsuki never managed to reach, even when she stacked chair upon chair – he rummaged around before procuring a well-hidden tin and set to work on making things right.

* * *

‘ _Stupid Satsuki._ ’

The young woman berated herself over and over again in her mind. She had known from the start that the mild-mannered and sweet-tempered light blue haired boy – with the most adorable eyes to match – had belonged to the prodigy who had one tanned arm slung around the shorter boy’s neck throughout their introduction. Her suspicions had been confirmed in a multitude of ways throughout their three years at Teiko, and yet she hadn’t been able to stop her traitorous heart from flinging itself at Tetsu-kun’s feet.

‘ _Stupid_ , stupid _Satsuki_.’

Hearing Dai-chan shuffling back into the living area, she surreptitiously swiped her palm over her eyes. A soft and awkward cough caused her to look up. Dai-chan was crouched in front her, eyes averted and clearly uncomfortable but offering her a mug. Her eyes widened. Not just a mug, she realised as the steam wafted towards her, bringing with it a rich and aromatic fragrance. But a mug of her favourite hot cocoa that was only sold in Belgium, the one Dai-chan had introduced to her years and years ago, during one of his father’s infrequent and brief pitstops between business trips. Satsuki’s eyes welled up with tears again when she saw that he had even topped it with a generous swirl of whipped cream, delicate dark chocolate shavings that were still curling at the edges and a fresh, dark red cherry; none of that overly sweet and preserved glace rubbish that she hated with a passion.

As she offered her best friend a tremulous smile – and a slight giggle at his badly hidden sigh of relief – and accepted the drink, Satsuki resolved then and there that she would become the number one supporter of her two most favourite and loved people in this world.

* * *

“So have you formulated a plan for your first date yet?”

“Eh? Plan? Well, I was thinking we could hit the burger joint and I’d get him his favourite vanilla milkshake.” Aomine shrugged.

“ _This_ burger place. The one we’re sitting in right this moment.”

“Well, yeah,” he paused at the disbelieving look Satsuki was shooting him, “Er, and a movie afterwards?”

“Dai-chan!” She punched her friend in the shoulder, “That’s a terrible plan! It’s the same as what you’ve been doing for the past three and a half years. It’s your first date together, it has to be _special_!”

The basketball player was in the process of rubbing his sore arm and coming up with a clever retort when a cheerful voice interrupted, “Momocchi’s right you know, Aominecchi.”

This was punctuated with loud chewing and the crinkling of foil and followed by, “As I thought, Virgo’s have a poor affinity to creative thinking and constructive planning this week.”

Aomine groaned, barely restraining from bashing his head heavily against the table, “You guys are _everywhere_.”

“Now,” Satsuki chirped brightly, “Since everyone’s arrived, let’s start planning!”

* * *

“I think they should go to a fancy restaurant, I can even get my manager to set up violins and roses and champagne-”

“How about a bakery? They sell a lot of really nice pastries and sweets there.”

“In my opinion, they should explore the cultural side to this city, there’s nothing like the sound of a philharmonic orchestra to-”

“No, no, no! Dai-chan should cook a picnic lunch and take Tetsu-kun to a park where there will be sakura trees in blossom, it would be so romantic!”

The clash of four voices and four very different ideas continued to weave its dissonance around Aomine who valiantly tried to block them all out by pure determination. It wasn’t working.

The discussion – yelling match – was just reaching its peak – homicidal intent had just been thrown onto the table – when Satsuki had enough. She slammed her hands against the table, “Shut up! All of you!”

As the voices died down, Satsuki spoke persistently over the discontented grumbles, “How about we implement _all_ the plans?”

There was a brief silence before Aomine couldn’t hold it in anymore, “What?! Are you out of your minds? That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever-”

He was soon drowned out (and ignored) by the rest of the members at the table and their enthusiastic agreements.

* * *

“So- Dai-chan! Listen up!”

Aomine grunted half-heartedly in response.

“So,” Satsuki started again, “The plan is, on Saturday, you’ll begin the day with fresh pastries from the bakery Muk-kun frequents.”

“It’s really very good,” the giant’s eyes were glazed over in hunger even as he spoke.

“Then you’ll head to Ueno Park with your home-cooked picnic basket and have the most romantic lunch ever!”

“After which, you’ll take Kurokocchi to Kozue, it’s got spectacular views Aominecchi! And I’ll get my manager to organise candles and violins and lots and lots of roses!”

“And after dinner, you’ll attend the performance of NHK Symphony Orchestra at Bunkamura Orchard Hall. You're very lucky they’re performing this week.”

“Now, remember Dai-chan, you’re then going to accompany Tetsu-kun home and voila! After such a perfect day, he won’t be able to resist you, you’ll be getting that goodnight kiss, Dai-chan!” Satsuki squealed while the others blanched.

Aomine blinked blankly at his crazy manager and previous team mates.

“You lot are serious.”

“OF COURSE, WE ARE!”

This time, Aomine didn’t even try to stop himself, he let his head fall heavily and repetitively against the table top.

* * *

Kuroko was just wrapping up his nightly training session when he heard his phone vibrate loudly against one of the wooden benches which lined the court. Panting softly, he trotted over and peered at the glowing screen. Upon seeing the caller ID, his lips unconsciously lifted into a soft, fond grin.

“Aomine-kun.”

“H-hey, T-tetsu. Um, about our, er, d-date…”

While the pale boy waited patiently for his light to continue, he tugged a towel free from his bag and began drying off. Knowing Aomine-kun, it was going to take a while.

‘ _But_ ,’ Kuroko paused in his motions and tipped his smiling face up to gaze at the night sky above, ‘ _Like all good things in life, Aomine-kun was more than worth the wait_.’

* * *

_Ring-ring. Rin-_

“Satsuki.”

“Akashi-kun.”

“I assume, everything has gone to plan.”

“Yep. Ki-chan, Midorin and Muk-kun played their parts perfectly.”

“Good. Very good work, Satsuki.”

“I’ll see you this coming Saturday then, Akashi-kun?”

“Hm.”


	13. Chapter 13

As far as first dates went, Aomine and Kuroko’s was one to go down in the history books.

In the years to come, the two would look back on that day with rueful affection, boisterous bickering (at least on Aomine’s part) and snide, teasing comments (Kuroko’s input) that would inevitably lead to a hot and steamy make out session. (It was probably why Aomine kept on bringing that particularly memory up).

As all best-laid plans, the day began smoothly (or as smoothly as a day that starred Aomine’s fumbling attempts to express his feelings and one that was meticulously planned by the entirety of the Generation of Miracles could go).

_Ding ding._

Aomine stepped back from the gate and tugged uncomfortably at the neck of his dress shirt while a soft stream of dark curses flowed freely from his lips.

“This is absolutely ridiculous. I cannot believe I’m actually going through with their insane plan. What depraved force of nature even made me agree to their moronic ideas?!”

His grumbling slowed when the gate remained unopened after a few minutes. Sighing in resignation, “In for a penny, in for a pound…” he placed the basket of baked goods – procured by Murasakibara at the ungodly hour of five this morning – on the ground. After scanning the flowerpots scattered about the front gate briefly, he fished a small grey stone out. A wistful smile spread across the tanned boy’s face when he saw that the Kuroko family’s spare key was still kept in the same place since his last visit. It seemed like some things had stayed the same.

“Excuse me for the intrusion”, Aomine muttered to the empty hallway as he let himself in. A quick inspection of the ground floor revealed that Kuroko’s parents weren’t home. He peered tentatively up the stairwell before gritting his teeth in determination and started up the steps grimly.

Aomine knocked quietly on Kuroko’s bedroom door and when his only answer was a muffled groan he gently nudged it open and poked his head through. The room was dark with only a sliver of sunlight sneaking through a gap in the curtains. As Aomine cast a cursory glance around, his gaze landed on the mess of pale blue hair peeking through the mound of bed sheets. He had not anticipated the rush of longing and fondness that almost doubled him over, and he was most definitely not prepared for the sudden urge to _go_ to his best friend. To take those few steps which would land him right next to the bed, to reach out and lift aside the covers and curl up next to that meagre warmth, to finally have the small male in his arms again…

Aomine shook his head roughly, trying to derail that train of thought. A soft grin tugged at his lips as he pictured the inevitable: a bony elbow in the belly, a mildly reproachful look from icy eyes and a drawled out, “Aomine-kun.”

Depositing the basket by the door, the tall male stepped through the entry and approached the sleeping boy cautiously. A gentle jostle of the slender shoulder barely roused a sleepy mumble accompanied by a sluggish flop-turn. Startled, Aomine leaned back before sighing and settling himself on the floor, putting him at head-level with Kuroko.

“Oi, Tetsu. Wake up.”

The petulant whine that escaped his shadow went straight to his groin. A hot flush rose to Aomine’s cheeks and he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, frantically trying not to think of all the other (more pleasurable) scenarios that desperate sound could feature in, while simultaneously willing his erection to go down.

He hadn’t _quite_ yet managed that when Kuroko lazily lifted one eyelid to peer at the intruder to his room. In the short sleep-hazed moments prior to full wakefulness, Kuroko’s gaze was soft and openly adoring as he peered at his light. And that look was a punch in the gut to Aomine. It was full of reverence that he didn’t deserve (yet so desperately yearned for), brimming with delight simply because he, _Ahomine_ , was near by, and it made him feel about ten feet tall (and undefeatable) but at the same time the size and significance of a bug. (When would he ever be good enough? How could he ever be forgiven?)

Tearing his eyes away from Kuroko, Aomine cleared his throat awkwardly and fumbled for something to say. Taking pity on him, Kuroko murmured a quiet good morning and apology for sleeping in before stretching into a yawn.

Was he trying to kill him? Aomine wondered absently, his eyes glued to the pale shoulder, revealed by the over-sized t-shirt that seemed strangely familiar. Such was his intensity and focus that the prodigy completely missed the satisfied smirk that slipped across Kuroko’s face.

* * *

Aomine fiddled absently with the corner of on of Tetsu’s multitude of books as he waited patiently for the other male to finish his shower. His mind would not stop replaying that moment again and again, that look in Kuroko’s eyes had been salvation; it was everything that he had longed for – and everything that he hadn’t even known he wanted. And he did – he _wanted_ – he needed that gaze to be turned towards him every day from now on.

Scrubbing his face in frustration, he flopped back into the support of the edge of the bed. He wriggled in discomfort for a while before yanking on the bundle of cloth that was digging into his neck. It was the shirt that Tetsu had been wearing before he had bloody _shucked it off_ right in front of him and sauntered into his adjoining bathroom, leaving a gaping Aomine in his wake. His eyes glazed over with desire as that particular image waltzed through his mind for the umpteenth time in the past ten minutes.

Peering curiously at the top in his hands, he was yet again hit by a wave of familiarity. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he stretched it above his head for further examination.

Wait a moment…

This was _his_!

The navy Henley had been his favourite in middle school, that is, until it curiously went missing in his graduating year. Darting his gaze back and forth from the shirt still clutched in his hands to the door of the bathroom, Aomine came to the startling conclusion that Tetsu had stolen his damn shirt! To sleep in! That sly bastard.

A smug smile firmly planted on his face, Aomine returned the shirt to the bed and was filled with pure male satisfaction and pride at the mere thought that Tetsu wore his clothing to bed. With that he settled back in to wait for his shadow. He had a feeling that the rest of their date was going to go swimmingly.


	14. Chapter 14

The troubles started the instant they set foot outside Tetsu’s house. The original plan was for Aomine to bike them both to Ueno Park, fulfilling Satsuki’s romantic fantasies of Tetsu clinging to Aomine’s back as they rode into the metaphorical sunset. (The pink-haired girl had stars in her eyes when she had described this at Maji Burgers.)

Unfortunately, the fates had a different idea.

Aomine stared at the bicycle in dismay, both tires had blown in the scant half hour he had left it propped outside Tetsu’s house. The hell was he supposed to do now?

He looked down at the soft tug on his sleeve.

“Aomine-kun. We can go catch the train instead.”

Reluctantly he let Tetsu lead the way to the station, throwing the bike one last suspicious look over his shoulder. There were some questionable tears in those tires, which could have definitely been made by some sharp implement.

Like scissors.

* * *

Kise carefully and reverently slid the red scissors back into its leather pouch before placing it into his inner coat pocket. Akashicchi would never forgive him if they were returned damaged.

* * *

Ueno Park was uncharacteristically packed and it was a struggle to find even a small patch of grass to settle on. Aomine alternated between shoving at innocent park-goers roughly with his shoulders and sending death glares to young families every time Tetsu glanced away. He eventually managed to forcibly create a spot for them and had just placed the blanket down and turned to motion Tetsu to sit when-

“Achoo!”

_Damn_.

Aomine’s expression fell as he took in Tetsu’s red and puffy face. The smaller boy was rubbing furiously at his watering eyes while trying to stem the flow of his running nose. The tanned player signed in resignation and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Shit. I forgot about your allergies, Tetsu.”

Kuroko sniffled and shook his head. His face set in determination as he looked up at his former partner, “I’ll be fine, Aomine-kun, I just…a-a-achoo!...need a moment…”

Aomine couldn’t stop his lips twitching up in a fond smile when Tetsu trailed off as his face scrunched up adorably, winding up for an explosive sneeze that landed him on his ass.

“It’s not”, sniff, “funny, Aomine-kun.” Kuroko complained petulantly.

“It kind of is, Tetsu, you should have seen your face.”

The ace rummaged around the picnic basket before fishing out a napkin and handed it to his friend. While Tetsu swiped at his red nose repeatedly, Aomine stood up, stretching, and peered up at the petals that were floating down from the low hanging branches laden with sakura blossoms. They were so thick that you could barely see the sky above. Feeling the familiar presence of his shadow at his side, Aomine glanced down at his shadow, who had also tipped his face up to drink in the beautiful sight.

“I’m sorry, Aomine-kun. It-“

“Oi, don’t be stupid,” Aomine gruffly interrupted, “It’s not your fault, I should’ve remembered. Instead I stupidly chose a damn park jammed with flowers and pollen in the height of hayfever season.”

Taking in Tetsu’s blotchy face guiltily, Aomine sighed and set about packing up their supplies. A small hand slipped into his when he stood up again.

“Still, I appreciate the gesture Aomine-kun made.”

This was punctuated with a gentle squeeze of his hand and sincerity shining up from round aqua eyes. Aomine found himself unable to resist the pull of his shadow and tugged him even closer, tracing a delicately flushed cheek gently with a finger.

Softly, not wanting to ruin the moment, he said huskily, “I know” before leaning in with the intention of tasting those soft lips again.

Before he could seal the deal, an abnormally large cloud of petals was dumped on them, triggering another sneezing fit from Tetsu. Aomine glared up at the branches as though they had personally offended him. Strange, but among the sea of pink he could have sworn he saw a flash of green...

Before he could investigate any further, he was reminded of his partner by a series of coughs. He had better get Tetsu out of here before he erupted into hives or something. Grasping the shorter boy’s hand, Aomine led them out of the park.

* * *

“Ack, never again,” Midorima muttered to himself as he lithely slid down the trunk of the sakura tree. Once on the ground he dropped the sack of flowers he had been carrying, and began brushing the copious amounts of petals and pollen off his body and stretching out his stiff arms. Who knew that shaking branches and dropping petals on the heads of two blunettes could be just a good of a workout as a game of basketball?

* * *

 Aomine groaned in absolute frustration.

In his hurry to get Tetsu away from the park, he had forgotten to retrieve their picnic basket. And in the search for a pharmacy for Tetsu’s allergies, they had no time to grab anything to eat before having to head home to change for dinner. Damn it, this was really not going to plan. (Although considering who had come up with this plan, it really shouldn’t have been a surprise.)

By the time Aomine knocked on the Kuroko residence for the second time that day, he was having serious reservations about continuing through with his friends’ half-baked plans. He was tugging on his tie futilely so the damn thing would stop tightening around his neck like a noose when Tetsu opened the door. He froze and all the breath was knocked out of him as he took in his shadow.

He was gorgeous. He was perfect.

From the slightly tousled way his hair had been styled, the powder blue shirt that perfectly matched his eyes, to the slim fitting dark grey slacks that hugged his legs (and hopefully ass, although Aomine had yet to have a chance to thoroughly check it out), Tetsu was perfect, and all his. The warm sparkle that lit up those icy eyes and the fond quirk at the corner of his mouth were there because of Aomine Daiki. That alone banished any, and all, doubts that he might have had.

He wordlessly offered up his arm to Tetsu, still too enamoured with the vision that was his date to speak. There was the barest hint of a blush on Kuroko’s face as he accepted the chivalrous gesture, flicking an almost shy glance up at Aomine, before setting off for their dinner reservation.

* * *

Aomine fidgeted restlessly in his chair as he took in the stylish and expensive décor of Kozue. It was beautiful; the soaring oak ceilings highlighted by the intimate lighting, enhanced the expansive view of the city’s skyline at night. But Aomine couldn’t help but think of the comfort and familiarity of the colourful plastic chairs and tables of Maji burgers. Across the table Tetsu’s expression was blank as always, seeming as relaxed in this high scale restaurant as he was everywhere else.

He cleared his throat nervously, prepared to fumble into conversation when their waiter arrived with the first course. The dark haired male gaped in absolute disbelief and dismay at the small collection of tiny riceballs spread across the enormous plate. Was that it? There was barely a mouthful worth of food there! Surely there was more. He lifted the plate to make sure that nothing had slipped off the plate during a moment of inattention, even checking under the table when he couldn’t find any.

“Aomine-kun,” disapproval was clear in Tetsu’s voice. (Although he thought there was the tiniest note of amusement threaded into his name.)

The basketball genius let his shoulders slump in resignation and began to pick miserably at his meal, if you could call it that. He perked up hopefully at the thought that maybe the main course would be more substantial.

He was wrong.

It was worse.

He poked at one of the few strands of limp noodle in his bowl suspiciously. Maybe the noodles were cannibalistic and were eating each other. A quiet growl from Tetsu’s stomach made him lift his head from his inspection of his dinner. The smaller male shrugged helplessly, “Even for me, this is quite a small meal. And we haven’t eaten since breakfast this morning.” Aomine sighed in defeat, another failure to add to the growing list. A list that just kept expanding when he discovered his wallet missing. After the fourth frantic search of all his pockets, Tetsu waved away his protests and paid for their meal.

* * *

Behind the screen that separated the kitchen from the restaurant’s main seating area, Murasakibara was having the time of his life “taste testing” the delicious concoctions that were Mine-chin and Kuro-chin’s dinner before grudgingly allowing the waiter to serve them. If Momoi hadn’t been there to supervise, empty plates licked of every last drop of sauce and soup would have been produced to the two bluenettes.

An evil smirk played on Momoi’s lips as she spoke quietly to the giant next to her while tossing a brown leather wallet up in the air.

* * *

Aomine was still apologising by the time they reached Bunkamura Concert Hall.

“Please stop Aomine-kun.”

“But Tetsu! It was my shout, I asked you out, I should have paid, I-“

“If it makes you feel better, you can pay me back later.”

“It’s not the same thing, and you know it.”

Kuroko chose to ignore him, turning his gaze to the stage as the lights dimmed around them.

“Oi, Tetsu you basta-!” A strategically placed elbow in his stomach sufficiently put a stop to his complaints. “This isn’t over,” he hissed at the smaller boy as the orchestra began filing on and chords filled the air as the musicians tuned their instruments.

The combination of plush velvet seats, dim lighting, warm soothing music, and a gnawing hunger that seemed to eat away at his bones was bad news. Aomine was struggling to stay awake and could feel his eyelids getting heavier and heavier by the second. He pinched himself and it cleared the sleepy haze that was clouding his mind for a second or two before it came back with a vengeance. If he…could just…

Aomine jolted awake mid-snore when an open palm was slammed into his midsection. Bewildered he looked around seeing annoyed glares directed at him from all directions. Shrinking, as much as a guy over 6 feet tall could, into his seat he mumbled furiously under his breath, “I knew this wouldn’t work. Stupid, stupid, stupid Ahomine. How could this possibly work?” He was going to kill each and everyone one of his former teammates, preferably slowly and painfully.

He was cut off from his ramblings by Tetsu’s sharp intake of breath and he could almost feel his shadow stiffen. Alarmed he swung his gaze at the male next to him only to see Tetsu rise to his feet shakily and pushing his way through the aisle and heading for the exit as quick as his feet could carry him. Confused and worried, Aomine hurried after him, muttering half-hearted apologies to the numerous feet he stepped on in his rush.


End file.
